Like most small business owners out there, you have probably heard someone singing the praises of social media – that is, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, or blogs. People have been known to say things like, “It’s free!” “It’s easy!” “Everyone’s doing it!”
The truth is that everyone is NOT doing it. Another truth is that many people that are doing it, don’t do it right.
What exactly is social media to a small business?
Social media is a great way to build a relationship with your customers. It is an awesome forum to share your expertise with a community. It is great for gaining customer feedback (both positive and negative). It can help build brand awareness. It allows your customers to share things you say with their friends, who can potentially become your customers too.
What social media isn’t.
Social media is not a place where you badger people to buy your stuff. If all you post about is your products, services or shows, you will have a hard time finding success in social media. It isn’t a billboard either. If you put up a facebook page and don’t update it, you probably won’t have much success that way either.
So what DO you post on social media?
The best approach to social media is to start on one or two platforms – the ones your customers are on. Poll them and find out where they spend their time online. This will tell you where you should invest your time posting information.
Once you have figured out where to post, the next step is figuring out what to post. This will be unique for every business, but in any case, it should be information relevant to your specific customer base. The rule of thumb is to post 90% informational and only 10% promotional. The best information is things like tips or techniques, interesting but relevant news or history, and ideas. For example, if you are a cleaning service, you could talk about the best ways to clean stains from carpets, tips on how to use “green” cleaning products, reviews of new products that you’ve used, etc. Customers that could use this information will follow you because you are providing value – and they can share your article or post with a friend, who might have experienced the issue you addressed in your post. This sharing gets your name out in front of a new customer that has a very specific problem that you have established yourself as an expert in. This builds trust and can eventually translate into sales.
How do I find this content?
The good news is, you don’t necessarily have to write articles (known as content) to be successful. You can simply link to other people’s content. Sharing industry information that is useful to your business can be very useful to your customers. So, if you don’t have time to write new information, you can simply share links to things that already exist online with a line or two of information.
You can write short bits of information yourself. Keep the industry lingo at a minimum, proofread your work (or use a word processor to check basic spelling and grammar) and let your business shine through.
The truth is that everyone is NOT doing it. Another truth is that many people that are doing it, don’t do it right.
What exactly is social media to a small business?
Social media is a great way to build a relationship with your customers. It is an awesome forum to share your expertise with a community. It is great for gaining customer feedback (both positive and negative). It can help build brand awareness. It allows your customers to share things you say with their friends, who can potentially become your customers too.
What social media isn’t.
Social media is not a place where you badger people to buy your stuff. If all you post about is your products, services or shows, you will have a hard time finding success in social media. It isn’t a billboard either. If you put up a facebook page and don’t update it, you probably won’t have much success that way either.
So what DO you post on social media?
The best approach to social media is to start on one or two platforms – the ones your customers are on. Poll them and find out where they spend their time online. This will tell you where you should invest your time posting information.
Once you have figured out where to post, the next step is figuring out what to post. This will be unique for every business, but in any case, it should be information relevant to your specific customer base. The rule of thumb is to post 90% informational and only 10% promotional. The best information is things like tips or techniques, interesting but relevant news or history, and ideas. For example, if you are a cleaning service, you could talk about the best ways to clean stains from carpets, tips on how to use “green” cleaning products, reviews of new products that you’ve used, etc. Customers that could use this information will follow you because you are providing value – and they can share your article or post with a friend, who might have experienced the issue you addressed in your post. This sharing gets your name out in front of a new customer that has a very specific problem that you have established yourself as an expert in. This builds trust and can eventually translate into sales.
How do I find this content?
The good news is, you don’t necessarily have to write articles (known as content) to be successful. You can simply link to other people’s content. Sharing industry information that is useful to your business can be very useful to your customers. So, if you don’t have time to write new information, you can simply share links to things that already exist online with a line or two of information.
You can write short bits of information yourself. Keep the industry lingo at a minimum, proofread your work (or use a word processor to check basic spelling and grammar) and let your business shine through.
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